In this example, ns1.domain.tld and ns2.domain.tld are your nameservers' identities.

Specify values for any other parameters that you wish to configure. Refer to the configuration values table for a complete list of available parameters.

Configuration values

You can configure the following values in the /etc/wwwacct.conf file:

Value

Description

Example

ADDR

The server's shared IPv4 address.

10.0.0.1

ADDR6

The server's shared IPv6 address.

10.0.0.1

CONTACTEMAIL

The system administrator's contact email address.

user@example.com

CONTACTPAGER

The number to which the server sends Short Message Service (SMS) notifications.

user@examplesms.com

DEFMOD

Required

The default cPanel theme that you wish to use for newly-created accounts.

This value does not impact cPanel theme behavior for existing accounts.

paper_lantern

ETHDEV

The default ethernet device. This parameter defaults to the eth0 value.

Specify venet0:0 if the server runs Virtuozzo®.

eth0

HOMEDIR

Required

The path to the default home directory.

/home

HOMEMATCH

A string that determines which partitions to use as home directories for new accounts. (For example, a value of users matches system mounts of users, users1, or users3.)

home

HOST

The server's hostname.

hostname

LOGSTYLE

Required

The Apache log format to use.

You must define this value as combined.

combined

NS

Required

The primary nameserver to add to DNS zones by default.

If you do not specify a value for NS, account creation will fail.

ns1.domain.tld

NS2

Required

A second nameserver to add to DNS zones by default.

If you do not specify a value for NS2, account creation will fail.

ns2.domain.tld

NS3

An additional nameserver to add to DNS zones by default.

ns3.domain.tld

NS4

An additional nameserver to add to DNS zones by default.

ns4.domain.tld

NSTTL

The default time to live (TTL) value that DNS zones will use.

86400

SCRIPTALIAS

Required

Whether the system aliases a /cgi-bin/ directory on account creation.

This value only accepts y or n.

y

TTL

The default time to live value.

14400

Configuration settings

When you install cPanel & WHM, the system reads the /root/cpanel_profile/cpanel.config file. This file stores the settings that WHM'sTweak Settingsinterface (Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings) contains, as well as various configuration settings for other cPanel & WHM features. The system uses these settings to set the values in the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file.

Some of the values that the /root/cpanel_profile/cpanel.config file contains are dynamic, or require specific values.

You can configure the version of MySQL ® or MariaDB to use in the /root/cpanel_profile/cpanel.config file's mysql-version key before you install cPanel & WHM. However, we do not support the configuration of existing installations of cPanel & WHM.

If you set MySQL to version 5.1 (mysql-version=5.1) or lower when you install cPanel DNSONLY™, the installation process automatically upgrades the MySQL installation to version 5.5. cPanel & WHM version 11.46 discontinued support for MySQL 5.1 and lower, and cPanel DNSONLY does not include an easy way in which to upgrade your MySQL installation.

Because cPanel & WHM displays the Feature Showcase after installation, Feature Showcase items can overwrite settings that you preconfigure on servers, such as the cpanel.config file.

To set these parameters, perform the following steps:

As the root user, create the /root/cpanel_profile/cpanel.config file.

With one entry per line, list the parameters and values that you wish to configure in key=value format. For example, to preconfigure your server to deny the nobody user the ability to send email to a remote address, add the nobodyspam=1 line to the /root/cpanel_profile/cpanel.config file before you install cPanel & WHM.

Account restoration

The /etc/cpanelacctrestore file contains a list of accounts to automatically restore during the cPanel & WHM installation process. You can use this file to restore accounts to a freshly-installed server.

When you create a backup file, you must use one of the following formats:

cpmove-{USER}

cpmove-{USER}.tar

cpmove-{USER}.tar.gz

{USER}.tar

{USER}.tar.gz

backup-{BACKUP-DATE_TIME}_{USER}.tar

backup-{BACKUP-DATE_TIME}_{USER}.tar.gz

To restore a list of cPanel accounts during the cPanel & WHM installation process, perform the following steps:

As the root user, use a text editor to create the /etc/cpanelacctrestore file.

List the user account names, one entry per line.

Upload the backup file or files to one of the following directories:

/home

/home2

/home3

/root

/usr

/usr/home

/web

Release tiers

The /etc/cpupdate.conf file determines the product version for your installation of cPanel & WHM. This file also controls when your server performs the automatic upgrades to new major versions of cPanel & WHM.

When you preconfigure this file, cPanel & WHM will install the specified version or the major version that corresponds to the specified release tier.

To preconfigure the cPanel & WHM release tier, perform the following steps:

As the root user, create the /etc/cpupdate.conf file.

In the /etc/cpupdate.conf file, use the CPANEL parameter to set your desired release tier. For example, to configure your server to use the STABLE tier, add the CPANEL=stable value to the /etc/cpupdate.conf file.

Invalid modifications to this file may cause serious problems. We strongly recommend that you do not modify this file unless you understand the full technical ramifications of your actions and can maintain these customizations.

Invalid data

If you see the following error in your server's logs, the /etc/cpsources.conf file likely contains invalid data:

To resolve this issue, move the /etc/cpsources.conf file to another location, then run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script. The system will automatically restore a valid cPanel-supplied version of the /etc/cpsources.conf file.

To disable FastUpdate on your server, SSH to your server as the root user and run the following command:

touch /var/cpanel/never_ever_use_fast_update_not_even_a_check

To reenable FastUpdate on your server, run the following command as the root user:

Apache

EasyApache 4

EasyApache 4 allows you to preconfigure your profile before you install cPanel & WHM on your server. To preconfigure your profile before install, create the /etc/cpanel_initial_install_ea4_profile.json file. The installation process installs this profile then copies it to the /etc/cpanel/ea4/profiles/custom/ directory when complete.

The /etc/cpanel_initial_install_ea4_profile.json file must exist as both a valid JSON file and a valid EasyApache 4 profile. If your JSON file contains errors, no data, or the installation fails, the system installs the default EasyApache 4 profile.

If your selected version of EasyApache fails to build, the installation process continues and you must troubleshoot the issue manually.

If your system runs CloudLinux™, the system installs the CloudLinux EasyApache 4 repository and the default CloudLinux profile.

Systems that do not run CloudLinux install cPanel & WHM's EasyApache 4 repository and default profile.

EasyApache 3

We no longer develop and only provide security updates for EasyApache 3. We will deprecate EasyApache 3 on December 31, 2018. After that date, we will no longer update EasyApache 3. In cPanel & WHM version 78, we will remove support for EasyApache 3. We strongly recommend that you install EasyApache 4.

If you wish to install EasyApache 3 on your system, you can use EasyApache 3 to configure the Apache web server before installation. To do this, you must also access an existing cPanel & WHM server that runs EasyApache. EasyApache allows you to adjust several configuration options.

You must create the /etc/install_legacy_ea3_instead_of_ea4 touch file to install EasyApache 3 by default on a fresh install of cPanel & WHM version 58 or higher.

Assign a file name, a display name, and a brief profile description to the new EasyApache profile.

Select Save Only (Do Not Build). Your server stores the new profile in the /var/cpanel/easy/apache/profile/custom/ directory, but does not recompile Apache and PHP.

Run the scp command to copy the profile to the /etc/cp_easyapache_profile.yaml file on the new server.

To create a /var/cpanel/easy/apache/prefs.yaml file, which stores your preferences separately from the build profile, perform the following steps:

Set the desired preferences in EasyApache.

On your new server, run the following command:

mkdir -p /var/cpanel/easy/apache/

Copy the /var/cpanel/easy/apache/prefs.yaml file from the existing system to the /var/cpanel/easy/apache/ directory on the new server.

Place your build profile in the /etc/cp_easyapache_profile.yaml file on the new server.

Override customizations

To override the cPanel & WHM installation system's default settings or any customizations that you made, run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/copy-etc-files script. This script performs the following actions:

Creates copies of the contents of your current system's /etc/bashrc, /etc/issue, and /etc/issue.net files.